America the Beautiful
by WaterfromSand
Summary: Matthew has been awake for a while now and he's been thinking about things about Alfred that he shouldn't be...


_Beautiful…_

Matthew looked, entranced, upon the face of his sleeping brother. Early morning light filtered in through a slit in the curtains, casting a soft glow through the room. Alfred's hair shone in the golden rays, bright and lustrous with health. His sooty lashes curled delicately, so long it seemed like they were about to brush over the his rosy cheeks.

Alfred's chest rose and fell in a slow, steady rhythm as he slept comfortably swaddled in all of his sheets and blankets. Matthew, being the less aggressive sleeper, had just one blanket and half a pillow left, but he didn't mind. He was warm enough being so close to his brother, especially now that a deep blush was beginning to creep across his face.

 _What am I doing?_ He thought to himself, squeezing his eyes shut and burying his face in what little pillow he had left, _Al is my brother! I can't think about him like he's- Like… Like this!_

Matthew took a deep breath to try to steady himself, but instantly regretted his decision. His nose was filled with the warm, familiar scent of his brother: apples, cinnamon, wheat, and something else crisp and earthy that Matt had never really been able to identify.

Matthew sighed, the smell comforting him. He was only in town with his brother for a week before he had to leave again, and being so close to Al reminded Matthew just how much he missed his brother while he was away. The scent brought back memories of swimming in the creek behind their childhood home, jumping in massive piles of fallen leaves, building snowman after snowman in feet of snow. It reminded him of all the times that he had fallen and Al had picked him back up, giving him a big hug to comfort him.

Matt found himself wanting to be wrapped in Al's strong arms again, held tightly against the muscled plane of his chest, close to-

 _Stop it, Matt!_ He thought, shaking his head. He furrowed his brow and scowled, reprimanding himself for letting his thoughts drift back towards things he shouldn't be thinking about.

He sighed once more and looked back at his handsome brother. His brother, who had always looked out for him, always been his hero. His brother, who was so tall, and muscular, and sweet, and courageous, and loving, and-

 _Matthew so help me God if you go any further… Stop it!_ He reprimanded himself once more. _You are not, have not ever been, and will not ever be in… in love with your brother. That would be wrong, and disgusting, and despicable, and he would hate you if he knew. Do you want that? Do you want your perfect, sweet, innocent brother to hate you! No! Now get your shit together before you screw something up, you freak._

Matthew's mouth was bitter with the scorn he directed at himself. Even so, he couldn't help but continue to watch his brother sleep. Alfred was just so cute, all cuddled up and cozy in his blankets. Before Matt could slip and let himself imagine waking up every morning by his brother's side, one of Alfred's deep, cerulean eyes peeled open.

"Mmmm…" Alfred groaned, blinking a few times while rubbing his bleary eyes. Matthew thought his heart was going to shatter.

 _How in the world is it possible for someone to be so perfectly adorable?_ He screamed internally, his stomach tying itself in knots.

"G'mornin', Mattie," Alfred mumbled, still trying to pull himself out of his sleepy trance. "'D'you sleep a'right?"

Matthew grinned at his brother and pulled a fake yawn to make it seem as though he hadn't been up for over an hour just watching his brother sleep. "Yeah, I slept alright," he said, pulling himself up into a sitting position, "But I sure was surprised to wake up with one measly blanket and barely half a pillow left for my comfort."

Alfred grinned mischievously, sending Matt's heart fluttering out the window. "Sorry bro," he chuckled, "Survival of the fittest in this house."

Before Matt could let his mind drift to just how fit his brother was, and just what kinds of things he could do with him in 'this house', he cleared his throat and asked his brother if he wanted breakfast.

"C'mon dude," Alfred said, struggling to push himself up onto his elbows, "You're my guest. I can make breakfast."

Matthew insisted. "Really, Al, I want to. I know my way around the kitchen, I'll be fine."

Alfred moaned, feeling bad for letting his brother do the work when he was the guest, but finally caved. "Okay," he sighed, "But… Only if you promise to put chocolate chips in the pancakes."

Matthew laughed at his brother's pleading eyes. "Of course," he reassured his brother, "You know I always will for you."

Alfred threw his fist up in the air with a victorious cry, then promptly fell back down into his pillows. "Well," he sighed, "I guess if you're cookin' I can catch a few more z's! Wake me when the cakes are hot!"

With that, to Matt's amazement, Al fell instantly back asleep.

Matt looked at his brother, astounded, then let out a low chuckle. Before he could stop himself, he reached out and brushed Alfred's honey-golden locks from his face. A blush rising once more from his cheeks, Matt whispered to his brother before getting up and heading to the kitchen.

"I love you, Al, you know that? You're my world, my hero, you goofball."

As he walked from the room, back to his brother, Matthew was oblivious to the happy smile that spread across Alfred's face.

...

Yet another transfer from my Tumblr blog. Check it out and like/reblog it here! post/119777535558/america-the-beautiful

I am always open to constructive criticism and I would love it if you sent me ideas for stories you'd like to see from me in the future. Thanks for being awesome and reading my stories, I really hope you enjoy them! c;


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